Screen printing presses are well known in the art. These devices utilize a screen to print an image on a substrate. The image is “burned” onto the screen using a positive transparency and a burn unit. Ink is then applied and passes through the screen and onto the substrate.
Problems exist in screen printing presses with respect to providing accurate screen registration when printing multiple colors. While screen mounted registration systems exist, they suffer from wear of crucial parts and require precision mounting of registration pins to function. The registration pins have a small surface area for contact, causing wear to have a more profound effect on registration. Also, such registration pins must be precisely oriented in the x-y-z coordinate system or fail, causing greater accuracy requirements in the mounting process.
Further, some screen printing presses utilize an “all-in-one” packaging design, wherein all press components are integrated into a single device. However, the performance of these presses can be degraded because they must necessarily balance the needs of competing functional requirements. In that regard, some miniaturized integrated systems use the base of the press to house various press components such as the burn unit. This approach can interfere with the placement of the substrate onto the printing platen, and also slow production of finished products. Locating press components within the base also inflates the size of the press. Also, presses which house the burn unit in the base, allow overspray from adhesives to collect on and impede crucial components. Problems can also arise with the size of the press being too large for the available work space and storage area.
Accordingly, there is a need for a screen printing press which has a registration system which is easy to use, and provides improved registration between colors on a single press, particularly when screens are interchanged. There is also a need for providing a press which provides a burn unit which is easily stored and removed from a work space.